Mission Songs Project by Jessie Lloyd

Produced by Performing Lines.

Jessie Lloyd’s profoundly moving and important Mission Songs Project reveals what daily was like for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Australians on Christian missions and state-run settlements. Through the discovery of rare secular songs that were sung after church, audiences can gain a deeper understanding about the history of elders, families and communities, from cultural identity to love and loss.

Mission Songs Project is an initiative to revive contemporary Australian Indigenous songs from 1900 to 1999, focusing on the Christian missions, state run settlements and native camps where Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people were relocated.

Searching for the secular songs that were sung after church, Mission Songs Project looks to explore the day to day life of the mission days, from cultural identity to love and loss. These unique songs performed by an extraordinary trio of Indigenous musicians consist of almost forgotten stories that illuminate the history of our Aboriginal and Torres Strait elders, families and communities.

Presented as an acoustic trio, Jessie Lloyd takes audiences on a musical journey across Australia. She engages through intimate storytelling, moving harmonies and historical insights. Using humour and truth to share the voices of elders as they would around a warm campfire or kitchen table.

Mission Songs Project faithfully explores the musical journey of Indigenous Australian music as Jessie Lloyd connects the traditional with the contemporary, revealing the continuation of cultural practice and song traditions into the 21st Century.

"Mission Songs Project presents contemporary folk songs that continue the ancient song lines of this country. The songs speak of the daily lives of the First Peoples who were relocated from their traditional homelands to the missions. There are some well known songs and also hidden gems that have been uncovered." - Archie Roach

"The 20th Century songs composed and sung on Aboriginal mission and settlements are records of our history and tell us about the emotions and aspirations of their composers. Jessie Lloyd’s research to find these songs is a profoundly important contribution to our nation and music." - Prof Marcia Langton